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In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are tons of metrics shareholders can use to watch stocks. A couple of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can beat the S&P 500 by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the financial markets. There are a variety of motivations for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the recent action surrounding Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK).

What have hedge funds been doing with Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 30% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies we track, North Run Capital, managed by Thomas Ellis and Todd Hammer, holds the biggest position in Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK). North Run Capital has a $17.4 million position in the stock, comprising 2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Trafelet Capital, managed by Remy Trafelet, which held a $14.1 million position; the fund has 9.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedgies that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds have jumped into Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK) headfirst. Wexford Capital, managed by Charles Davidson, assembled the most outsized position in Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK). Wexford Capital had 4.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital also made a $1.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new CBK positions are Mark Broach’s Manatuck Hill Partners, Israel Englander’s Catapult Capital Management, and Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management.

How have insiders been trading Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time period, Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK) has seen 6 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE:CBK). These stocks are bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE), Destination Maternity Corp (NASDAQ:DEST), The Wet Seal, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTSL), New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY), and Destination XL Group Inc (NASDAQ:DXLG). All of these stocks are in the apparel stores industry and their market caps are similar to CBK’s market cap.